Flanders artist eyes Greenport for new project

Flanders artist Andrea Cote, who met with the Greenport Village Board to discuss her latest project Monday night, said she plans to install a temporary interactive art piece in Mitchell Park that highlights the village’s history.

She envisions part of the project, called “Port of View,” as taking place across a six-foot concrete compass. At its center would be Greenport’s ship logo and the text on the outside of the circle would relate to the village’s past and its people, she said.

At its southernmost point, facing Shelter Island, would be the project’s centerpiece — a freestanding wheel reminiscent of a captain’s wheel or film reel. When viewers look through the wheel, they are meant to see the landscape through the eyes of people from Greenport’s past, she said.

The exhibit would run next year from Memorial Day through the end of September, she said.

The project is being made possible in part by a $2,500 New York State Council grant Ms. Cote received. She is requesting the village provide a matching amount for the project. Last summer, Ms. Cote created an interactive art piece called “Eyes on Main Street,” through which she interviewed and photographed people who have close ties to downtown Riverhead and its history. That project wrapped up last fall.